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SpaceX says upgraded Starlink satellites have better bandwidth, beams, and more

During the Starlink-1 launch webcast, SpaceX described some of the significant upgrades it has made to its Starlink satellites, ranging from massively improved bandwidth to "100% demisability". (SpaceX - edit by Teslarati)

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Just hours ago, SpaceX successfully launched its second batch of 60 Starlink satellites, featuring a variety of upgrades as part of the move from v0.9 to v1.0 spacecraft. During SpaceX’s launch webcast, the hosts revealed a number of intriguing new details about those upgrades, shedding a bit more light on what exactly has changed.

SpaceX launched its first dedicated Starlink mission in May 2019, placing 60 “v0.9” satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) in what was essentially a beta test at an unprecedented scale. At the time, SpaceX and CEO Elon Musk disseminated a substantial amount of information, essentially taking the veil off of (part of) the company’s Starlink satellite program. In terms of the basics, Starlink v0.9 satellites were said to weigh approximately ~225 kg (500 lb) apiece, although the final mass – said to be the heaviest payload SpaceX had ever launched – suggested that that figure excluded the mass of krypton propellant.

All told, Musk said that the payload weighed ~18.5 tons but never clarified whether that was in imperial or metric units, leaving a potential range of 16,700-18,500 kilograms (36,800-40,800 pounds). In general, Musk was quite confident that SpaceX’s custom-built phased array antennas were effectively the best in the world even in their v0.9 beta-test iteration. Additionally, he noted that inter-satellite optical (i.e. laser) links would have to wait a generation or two before becoming part of the operational constellation.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

With SpaceX’s Starlink-1 launch, the second 60-satellite mission, the company debuted Starlink ‘v1.0’ satellites with a range of changes and upgrades that fall under two main categories: structures and communications.

Prior to the November 11th webcast, SpaceX’s official pre-launch press kit was far less revealing than Starlink v0.9’s but did note that v1.0 satellites have been upgraded to be “100% demisable”. This means that when each spacecraft reenters Earth’s atmosphere, everything down to the last shred of mylar is now expected to burn up before reaching the ground, reducing the (already miniscule) risk of debris harming people or property. Similarly, SpaceX implied several months before launch that v1.0 spacecraft would include tweaks to limit their reflectiveness after the astronomy community stoked fears about potential impacts.

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A stack of 60 Starlink v0.9 satellites are prepared for their orbital launch debut in May 2019. (SpaceX)
60 v0.9 Starlink satellites ahead of their May 2019 debut. (SpaceX)
60 Starlink v1.0 satellites prepare for flight. A move to matte finishes is one immediately visible albedo-related change present on the new design. (SpaceX)

Aside from a general improvement to the overall visual fit-and-finish of the v1.0 spacecraft, SpaceX’s official comments on the matter indicated that the most substantial changes between v0.9 and v1.0 were more related to each spacecraft’s advanced electronics and payloads. In the case of Starlink, each satellite’s primary payload is a high-performance suite of electronically-steered phased array antennas. Initially developed to improve the flexibility of tracking and scanning radars used by military fighter aircraft, phased array antennas (and radar) allow multiple beams to be aimed without physically moving the antenna.

SpaceX says that Starlink v1.0 satellites added a number of Ka-band antennas alongside upgraded Ku-band hardware similar to what was installed on Starlink v0.9. Ka and Ku refer to similar but different communications frequencies, with Ku-band generally offering greater reliability and cloud/rain tolerance, while Ka-band is a bit more sensitive to environmental factors but offers a substantially higher theoretical bandwidth.

60 Starlink v1.0 satellites deploy in one giant, ~18-metric-ton blob. What look like white cutouts are each spacecraft’s large solar array seen prior to deployment. (SpaceX)
On the right, Starlink’s phased array antennas are visible as four shiny panels on the matte aluminum rear of the satellite bus. (SpaceX)

According to SpaceX engineers speaking during the Starlink-1 launch webcast, Starlink v1.0 satellites offer an unexpected 400% increase in overall bandwidth, meaning they can theoretically transmit four times as much data per any given second. Additionally, Starlink v1.0 satellites were said to feature antennas with twice as many steerable beams, meaning that they can effectively serve two times as many regions simultaneously. It’s unclear if the addition of Ka-band antennas is the sole source of these substantial improvements.

Furthermore, during the Starlink v0.9 launch, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk indicated that the 60 satellites represented a bandwidth of more than 1 terabit per second (Tbps), translating to ~17 Gbps per satellite. More likely than not, Musk was speaking aspirational and the v0.9 satellites actually represented more like ~200-300 Gbps worth of throughput, with the additional of Ka-band antennas and perhaps general technology upgrades bringing v1.0 satellites to a nominal ~17 Gbps apiece.

For now, 60 Starlink v1.0 satellites are now in orbit and are rapidly spreading out after their bizarre but effective blob-style deployment. With any luck, all 60 will successfully deploy their solar arrays and begin propelling themselves towards their final operating orbits with krypton-fueled ion thrusters. Stay tuned for updates from SpaceX!

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Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

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Neuralink Blindsight human trials expected to start in the UAE

Neuralink aims to restore vision with its Blindsight BCI implant. First human implant for Blindsight may happen in UAE.

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(Credit: Neuralink)

During Elon Musk’s interview at the Qatar Economic Forum, he announced that Neuralink aims to implant its Blindsight brain-to-computer interface (BCI) device in a human patient by late 2025 or early 2026.

Blindsight focuses on restoring vision. A few years ago, Musk mentioned that Neuralink’s BCI devices would restore vision for people, even those born blind.

“The first two applications we’re going to aim for in humans are restoring vision, and I think this is notable in that even if someone has never had vision ever, like they were born blind, we believe we can still restore vision. The visual part of the cortex is still there. Even if they’ve never seen before, we’re confident they could see,” Musk said during Neuralink’s Show & Tell in 2022. 

Musk said Blindsight could be implanted into a human patient in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Neuralink plans to partner with the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi to implant the first human patient with Blindsight.

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Elon Musk’s neurotechnology company is partnering with the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi to conduct the first clinical trial of the UAE-PRIME study. Like Neuralink’s PRIME study in the United States, UAE-PRIME will focus on human patients with motor and speech impairments.

Neuralink received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to conduct the PRIME and CONVOY studies in the United States. PRIME tests the capabilities of the company’s Link implant to restore or enable motor and speech in participants. Meanwhile, the CONVOY study explores Link’s ability to control assistive robotic devices. Neuralink already has an assistive robotic arm called ARA that could expand patients’ autonomy beyond smart devices.

Blindsight would probably require a separate study from PRIME and CONVOY. As such, Neuralink might need FDA approval in the United States to start human trials for Blindsight. However, Blindsight already received a “breakthrough device” designation from the US FDA.

In April 2025, Neuralink opened its patient registry to participants worldwide. The neurotechnology company has already implanted its Link BCI device into five patients. Earlier this year, Neuralink welcomed one of its first PRIME study participants as the first patient in its CONVOY study.

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Elon Musk just revealed more about Tesla’s June Robotaxi launch

Tesla CEO Elon Musk gave more information about the Robotaxi launch in Austin set for June.

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Steve Jurvetson, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Tesla CEO Elon Musk just revealed more details about the company’s June Robotaxi launch, which will kick off in Austin.

As of right now, Tesla is still set to push out the first Robotaxi rides in Austin, Texas, in early June. These vehicles will be in short supply at first, as Musk says the company is purposely rolling out the fleet in a slow and controlled fashion to prioritize safety. There will be ten vehicles in the Robotaxi fleet to start.

Tesla Robotaxi deemed a total failure by media — even though it hasn’t been released

However, in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday afternoon, Musk also revealed some other new details, including where in Austin the vehicles will be able to go, how many Robotaxis we could see on public roads within a few months, and other information regarding Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite.

A Controlled Rollout

Tesla has maintained for a few months now that the Robotaxi fleet will be comprised of between 10 and 20 Model Y vehicles in Austin.

The Cybercab, which was unveiled by the company last October, will not be available initially, as those cars will likely be produced in 2026.

Musk said during the CNBC interview that Tesla is doing a low-yield trial at first to initiate a safety-first mentality. It is important for Tesla to launch the Robotaxi fleet in a small manner to keep things in check, at least at first.

As confidence builds and the accuracy of the fleet is ensured, more vehicles will be added to the fleet.

Musk believes there will be 1,000 Robotaxis on the road “in a few months.”

Geofenced to Certain Austin Areas

Tesla will be launching the Robotaxi program in a geofenced fashion that gives the company the ability to control where it goes. Musk says that the areas the Robotaxis will be able to travel to are among the safest neighborhoods and areas in Austin.

This is yet another safety protocol that will ensure the initial riders are not put in dangerous neighborhoods.

Some might be disappointed to hear this because of Tesla’s spoken confidence regarding Robotaxi, but the initial rollout does need to be controlled for safety reasons. An accident or incident of any kind that would put riders’ lives in danger would be catastrophic.

No Driver, No Problem

As the company has rolled out an employee-only version of the Robotaxi program in Austin and the San Francisco Bay Area, some wondered whether the rides would be driverless, as these initial trials for Tesla workers were not. Employee rides featured a human in the driver’s seat to ensure safety.

Tesla says it has launched ride-hailing Robotaxi teaser to employees only

The company did not report whether there were any interventions or not, but it did state that the vehicles traveled over 15,000 miles through 1,500 trips.

Musk confirmed during the interview that there will be no driver in the vehicle when the Robotaxi program launches in June. This will be groundbreaking as it will be the first time that Tesla vehicles will operate on public roads without anyone in the driver’s seat.

Full Self-Driving Licensing

For more than a year, Tesla has indicated that it is in talks with another major automaker regarding the licensing of Full Self-Driving. Many speculated that the company was Ford, but neither it nor Tesla confirmed this.

Musk said today that Tesla has been in touch with “a number of automakers” that have inquired about licensing FSD. Tesla has yet to sign any deal to do so.

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Elon Musk on Tesla vehicle sales: “We see no problem with demand”

“The sales numbers at this point are strong, and we see no problem with demand,” Musk said.

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(Credit: Tesla)

During a rather testy interview with Bloomberg’s Mishal Husain at the Qatar Economic Forum, Elon Musk stated that the demand for Tesla’s vehicles is still strong. Musk also stated that the issues that Tesla faced earlier his year have already turned around.

Already Turned Around

Tesla sales saw notable drops in the past months, particularly in Europe, where several countries saw drastically fewer Tesla sales year-over-year. Tesla stated in its Q1 2025 vehicle delivery report that the declines were largely due to the company’s changeover to the new Model Y, but media reports nevertheless placed the blame on Musk’s politics and his work with the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

It was then no surprise that Bloomberg’s Husain pointed out Tesla’s low sales in Europe this April during the interview. When questioned about the matter, Musk stated that things have “already turned around.” Musk also noted that while Tesla sales are down in Europe so far, this is true for numerous other carmakers in the region.

No Problem With Demand

When asked for evidence to back up his claims, Musk stated that Europe is indeed Tesla’s weakest market, but the company remains “strong everywhere else.” He also admitted that while Tesla has “lost some sales from the left,” the company also “gained some from the right.” Musk highlighted the fact that Tesla stock, which is partly affected by analysts with insider information, is trading at near all-time highs.

“The sales numbers at this point are strong, and we see no problem with demand. You can just look at the stock price. If you want the best insider information, the stock market analysts have that, and our stock wouldn’t be trading near all-time highs if things weren’t in good shape. They’re fine. Don’t worry about it,” Musk said. 

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Watch Elon Musk’s full interview at the Qatar Economic Forum in the video below.

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